The Senate President of Nigeria, Dr Ahmed Lawan, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon, Femi Gbajabimilla on Thursday, reacted to the decision reached by the Southern Governors to restructure the country.
Lawan challenged the Southern Governors to start the restructuring from their own state.
The Southern governors had unanimously agreed to restructure the country, ban open grazing, and demanding a call for national dialogue to address thorny national issues. They asked for key appointments into federal establishments to reflect federal character.
Senators from the seventeen (17) Southern States of the Federation, the Pan-Niger Delta Forum, (PANDEF); including Benue State governor Samuel Ortom backed the Southern Governors on their decisions regarding restructuring, among other deliberations.
Meanwhile, Lawan and Gbajabimilla expressed reservations about the Southern Governors advocacy, saying that “charity begins at home,” urging them to first restructure their states.
He cautioned, that the governors should not be the ones agitating for restructuring, noting that leaders must come up with a holistic idea on how to make the system work.
He said, “I believe as leaders, especially those of us, who are elected into office, (we) should not be the one at the forefront of calling for this kind of thing; because even if you are a governor, you are supposed to be working hard in your State to ensure that this restructuring you are calling for at the federal level, you have done it in your own State.
“What you may accuse the federal government of, whether it is, you may also be accused of the same thing in your State.
“So, we are supposed to ensure that we have a complete and total way of ensuring that our system at the federal, State, and even local governments level work for the people. We must allow people to participate in governance so that whoever feels he has something to offer to make Nigeria better does so freely without any let or hindrance”.
While urging elected leaders to shun regionalism, Lawan called on all stakeholders to rally behind the president to tackling the nation’s challenges.
Ijeoma Njoku reporting, Obinwannem News
